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Friday, September 19, 2014

In the Kitchen with Jason (and David): New England Baked Beans

Warning: New England is actually misspelled in the name of this recipe. It should be spelled Barbecue. The over abundance of the bbq flavor isn't a true problem, just more of a surprise.

Picture this: they have been baking and filling your house with good smells all day; you pull them out of the oven, spoon a generous portion onto our plate and take a bite. BAM! These are not how grandma used to make beans! The second time I had them, they were quite good, and I wouldn't mind making them again now that I know what I am in for.

Another thing this recipe is not: quick. Don't think you can whip these up in a couple minutes; they take all day. You won't be paying any attention to them for the majority of the time, but all day is a good description of the time from when you start to when you eat.

Ingredients

1 night and 1 day

1 lb dried Great Northern beans

1/2 lb bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups ketchup

1 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup apple cider vinigar

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Put the beans in a large bowl, put a lot of water in the bowl, and put the bowl in the fridge.

The beans are going to at least double in size from the water so make sure there is enough in the bowl; no such thing as too much.

Come back tomorrow.

Drain and rinse the beans.

Pick through them and remove any bad ones.

I have no clue what a bad Great Northern Bean looks like so good luck with this one.

Put the beans in a dutch oven and cover with water so the water is 2 inches higher than the beans.

Bring the beans to a boil over high heat and continue to boil them for 2 additional minutes.

Remove the beans from heat, put the cover on the dutch over, and take a 60-minute break.

Again, drain and rinse the beans.

Put the beans back in the pot and add 6 cups of water.

Bring the beans to a boil again, then reduce the heat, cover and come back in 2 hours.

Heat your oven to 275 degrees.

Before the 2 hours are up, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat.

When the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pan to a paper-lined plate.

Discard all but 2 Tbsp of the drippings.

Add the onion to the remaining drippings and cook for about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add all the other ingredients.

Drain the beans yet again, but this time reserve the cooking liquid (there will not be nearly as much as you started with).

Put the beans, bacon, and homemade bbq sauce in a 4 quart oven safe container that you have an oven safe lid for and mix them all together.

Cover and bake for 3 hours, coming back every 30 minutes to stir.

If the beans ever look dry, use some of the reserved liquid, but this didn't happen to me, so you might not actually need that stuff at all.

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We are a happily married couple with a 3-year-old daughter, nicknamed Bug, a 1-year-old son, nicknamed Dino, and a crazy cat, Preston. You'll find delicious recipes, book reviews, parenting tips and tricks, ways to save money and more here. We love sharing our lives with you and are so excited you are here!